Many types of children""s products are assembled using tubular components that must be fixed to one another or to a bracket. Frequently, these tubular components are manufactured from metal or plastic. By allowing a retailer or the consumer to assemble the children""s product, the bulk of the product may be reduced, and hence the costs of packaging and shipping the product may also be reduced. However, it is necessary to provide a fastener that is easy for the retailer or consumer to use, and that provides a positive connection.
It has also been found desirable to enable consumers to repeatedly assemble and disassemble some children""s products in order to facilitate frequent transportation of the product. Thus, the connections must be able to perform reliably through a great number of duty cycles.
One type of conventional fastener for a joint between two nested tubular components includes a projection that is biased to extend through aligned holes in each of the tubular components. Conventionally, the projection is biased by a resilient element located inside the inner one of the tubular components. Examples of such conventional fasteners in children""s products are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,431 (Brown et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,227 (Huang), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,386 (Eichhorn). Examples of these conventional fasteners in other technologies include U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,974 (Yang), U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,864 (Vosbikian et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,702 (Wang), U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,428 (Marchwiak et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,900 (Stilley), U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,103 (Chin-Shung), U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,800 (Yang), U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,261 (Stanley et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,179 (Adams), U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,287 (Esposito), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,216 (Pansini).
In operation, the projection maintains the relative positional relationship of the tubular components. At such time as it is desirable to disconnect or reorient the tubular components with respect to one another, the projection is depressed against the bias of the resilient element until the projection is clear of the outer tubular element. At this time, the outer tubular element may be displaced relative to the inner tubular element.
One disadvantage of these conventional fasteners is that the projection may be depressed too aggressively such that the projection also clears the inner tubular element. In this situation, the projection or resilient element may be displaced to such a degree that the projection is no longer positioned to extend through the inner tubular element, thus rendering the connection inoperable.
In the course of assembling a children""s product that includes nested or telescopic elements, e.g., tubes, it is also desirable to provide a closure for occluding an exposed end of at least one of the elements. Conventional closures, e.g., plugs or end caps, prevent foreign substances from entering the element""s exposed end, as well as improve the aesthetic qualities of the product. Traditionally, these conventional closures are installed once, i.e., they are not intended to be removed/replaced each time a product is disassembled/reassembled. Such conventional closures are independent and unrelated to conventional fasteners.
One disadvantage of these conventional closures is that they are often dislodged from the end of the tubular element. These conventional closures are traditionally held in the end by an interference fit, which, in the course of regular use, may become loose, thus enabling the conventional closure to simply fall out of the end of the tubular element.
The present invention is drawn to a fastener with an integral closure, and a connection assembly. The fastener can maintain the relative position of concentrically nested or telescopically related inner and outer tubes. The fastener has an integral closure that can occlude a tubular member. The fastener can be used for assembling children""s products such as play-yards, strollers, swings, and other types of furniture, transports, and accessories.
The fastener can maintain the relative position of concentrically nested inner and outer tubes, where the inner tube has an inside surface and an outside surface separated by a first tubing wall thickness, the outer tube has an interior surface and an exterior surface separated by a second tubing wall thickness, and the inner and outer tubes have respective first and second holes penetrating the first and second wall thicknesses, respectively.
The fastener has a projection, a resilient body, and a closure. The projection can matingly engage the first and second holes. The resilient body is connected to the projection and can bias the projection through the first and second holes. The resilient body is elastically deformable between a first configuration, where the projection can extend through the first and second tubing wall thicknesses, and a second configuration, where the projection can extend through the first tubing wall thickness. The closure is integrally connected to the resilient body and can overlie the first wall thickness.
The connection assembly includes a combination of the fastener and the inner and outer tubes.